There will be no easing into the Commonwealth Games Twenty20 cricket tournament for the White Ferns.
Their opening match against South Africa [first ball 10pm Saturday NZ time] is likely to be decisive when it comes to making the top two in their group and advancing to the semifinals.
Hosts England and Sri Lanka – who New Zealand have never lost to – are the other teams in group B, with favourites Australia, India, Pakistan and Barbados making up group A.
Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Veteran seamer Lea Tahuhu was given a late reprieve to join the White Ferns for the Commonwealth Games.
Beat South Africa, and the White Ferns will be in a position to clinch a semifinal spot with a win over Sri Lanka in their second group match.
Lose, and they will likely need to upset England on their home turf at Edgbaston in Birmingham in their final group match to make the top four and have a chance at a medal.
The White Ferns haven’t played an international fixture since late March, when their one-day World Cup campaign on home soil came to an end with a consolation win over Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
They were left to rue narrow losses to the West Indies, South Africa and England as they finished sixth on the ladder, knowing that reversing just one of them would have been enough to make the semifinals.
As it was, the White Ferns’ run of major tournaments without a semifinal appearance now sits at four – the 2017 one-day World Cup, the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cups, and this year’s one-day event, where they’d hoped to make the most of being the hosts.
Cricket’s return to the Commonwealth Games after a 24-year absence brings them back to the 20-over format of the game, where they’ve had more success than in the 50-over format of late.
It is the first time women’s cricket has featured at the multi-sport event and the tournament will be the White Ferns’ first under new coach Ben Sawyer, appointed in June on a two-year contract.
There is a T20 World Cup in South Africa in February to follow and NZ Cricket pointed to the back-to-back short-form tournaments when making some dramatic personnel changes at the end of May, as it handed out central contracts for the coming 12-month period.
Amy Satterthwaite retired after she wasn’t given a contract, despite being the White Ferns’ most successful T20 batter since the last World Cup in early 2020.
There were no deals for spin bowlers Leigh Kasperek or Frankie Mackay, which means the White Ferns go into the Commonwealth Games with unproven duo Fran Jonas and Eden Carson supporting all-round star Melie Kerr.
Seamer Lea Tahuhu was the fourth major player not to be given a deal, just months after she was the team’s joint leading wicket-taker at the one-day World Cup, but has found herself in Birmingham regardless.
She was given a reprieve when Jess Kerr was ruled out with a foot injury and Lauren Down decided she needed to take a break from cricket, with fellow seamer Claudia Green the other player called up at late notice.
Based on the White Ferns’ two warm-up matches – a win and a loss against England A – Tahuhu should slot straight back into the first-choice XI and spearhead the bowling lineup alongside leg-spinner Melie Kerr.
The absence of Jess Kerr is a blow, as the rest of the expected bowling attack has a relatively raw feel about it, especially in the spin department.
Another question will be whether the top three of captain Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, and Melie Kerr can fire consistently with the bat, and what kind of support they receive if they don’t.
All eyes are on South Africa on Saturday, a team that has been in England for several weeks now and hasn’t been faring too well, drawing a rain-affected test then getting swept 3-0 in the ODI and T20 series that followed.
Their captain, Dane van Niekerk, hasn’t recovered from the ankle injury that ruled her out of the one-day World Cup earlier this year, and veteran batter Lizelle Lee retired earlier this month.
A further blow came when all-rounder Marizanna Kapp confirmed she wouldn’t be available for the Commonwealth Games, having returned to South Africa earlier in the tour for family reasons.
White Ferns – Commonwealth Games
Squad
Sophie Devine (c), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze, Claudia Green, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Jess McFadyen, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu
One to watch
Veteran seamer Lea Tahuhu’s efforts with the ball will go a long way to determining how the White Ferns fare, especially with Jess Kerr absent injured. If she fires, the decision not to offer her a central contract back in May will look even curiouser than it did at the time.
Fixtures (NZ time)
Saturday, July 30, 10pm: v South Africa; Edgbaston
Wednesday, August 3, 5am: v Sri Lanka; Edgbaston
Thursday, August 4, 5am: v England; Edgbaston
Saturday, August 6, 10pm or Sunday, August 7, 5am: Semifinals (if qualified)
Sunday, August 7, 9pm or Monday, August 8, 4am: Medal matches (if qualified)
Prediction
South Africa are there to be beaten in the White Ferns’ opening match, but getting past England and/or Australia will be much harder. A bronze medal match is likely to be their best-case scenario and that would be a positive development after their recent results at major tournaments.
